Survey: Bloomington residents give parks department high marks, want more trails

Bloomington — The Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners heard the results of a statistically valid community survey on parks services at its February meeting, with Acuity Research reporting strong public approval for the department and clear priorities for future investment.

Jeff Andresen, president of Acuity Research and Insights, told commissioners the survey reached a valid sample of 405 residents and was weighted to reflect permanent Bloomington households. “The average rating is a 7.9,” Andresen said, summarizing residents’ overall esteem for the parks department.

The presentation showed high usage and satisfaction: 90% said someone in their household had visited a park, trail or playground in the past year, and satisfaction ratings for facilities, cleanliness, accessibility and safety were generally high. Andresen said roughly 75% of respondents expressed interest in more trails for walking, hiking and biking.

Respondents were also asked about value: after being told that parks receive just under 2% of property taxes, just over three out of four said that represents at least a good value. “The average 7.7 value score is directly in line with your overall esteem rating,” Andresen said.

The survey identified localized concerns. Where respondents reported lower satisfaction, the most common reasons were perceptions of safety, including worries about drug use and the presence of unhoused people in some parks, and upkeep at popular locations such as Switchyard and the Beeline Trail. Andresen noted that the counts shown in that slide are numbers of cases rather than percentages and that most lower-rated items were raised by small numbers of respondents.

On major capital priorities, residents showed conditional support for pool and facility improvements: about half of respondents favored improving one outdoor pool and converting the other to a spray playground, while 33% supported a single new aquatic center to replace both pools. Andresen cautioned that much of the willingness-to-pay support was “somewhat” rather than strongly in favor, meaning details on cost and timing will matter to voters.

Parks Director Tim Street said the survey provides useful guidance as staff finalize the department’s master-plan goals. “I think there’s a lot of really great information in that report for us to draw on,” Street said, adding that staff will use the findings to prioritize community impacts, financial sustainability and staffing as they complete the master plan.

The board did not take action on the survey itself; the presentation will inform forthcoming master-plan recommendations and budget discussions.